Shame on not having US ambassador to India: Democratic lawmaker

America’s top Democratic lawmaker Mark Warner said on Thursday that the absence of the US ambassador to India for more than two years was a matter of shame. He suggested that if current contender Eric Garcetti fails to garner enough votes for Senate confirmation for his appointment, another “equally qualified” candidate should be considered. In July 2021, US President Joe Biden nominated former Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti (52) to the post of US Ambassador to India.

However, Garcetti’s nomination was not put to a vote in the Senate because the Democratic Party did not have sufficient numbers in the House to confirm it. When asked about the issue, Senate Intelligence Select Committee Chairman Mark Warner told PTI, “It is a matter of shame that we say that the India-US relationship is one of the most important relationships in the world.” There is one and yet we have not appointed our ambassador to India. Warner was part of the US Congressional delegation that visited India last week.

He said that Indians also raised the issue of the absence of the US Ambassador in the country at this crucial time. The top Democratic lawmaker said, “Another thing our Indian friends said is that you talk so much (about strong ties with India), but you don’t even have an ambassador (in India). Now this issue (the confirmation of Garcetti’s nomination) is mired in domestic politics, but I think what we all want is that there needs to be a vote to confirm Garcetti’s nomination as a president.”

He said, “If his name is confirmed then it is good. If this does not happen, we will have to immediately find an equally qualified and capable claimant. We cannot maintain this relationship without an ambassador to India confirmed by the Senate. If we do not do this, it will be a matter of shame.

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